Spanish

You really will not need much. I am surprised you received the impression on this forum that you should know Spanish, I don't see that. Knowing a few polite words? sure, always a good thing anywhere. But you are going to well trod tourist destinations, so there will be an excess of English speakers serving and helping you. If anything, for Barcelona, learn a few Catalonian phrases, that will go a long way.

I just found this forum and see all the recommendations all knowing Spanish and I’m a little nervous.

Where exactly do you see "all the recommendations all knowing Spanish"?

One can have a wonderful trip to Spain without being able to speak any Spanish at all, so nobody should be nervous.

As with anywhere, it's polite and helpful to be able to say a few words if you can manage that (basics like: please, thanks, I'm sorry, hello, goodbye, where is, yes, no, maybe, I want, I don't understand, help, bathroom, etc.) but you can learn those on the flight over.

While it's always helpful to be fluent when visiting a foreign country, millions of people visit Spain every year without being able to say anything beyond the basics. You will be fine, don't worry. Spain is great - enjoy your trip!

You'll be fine even if you don't know a word of Spanish. Nearly everyone in Europe speaks at least some English. Your studies over the last six months will help you to read/understand Spanish words and phrases, and if you can say a few things like please, hello, goodbye, good morning, thank you, where's the bathroom, etc, you will be representing your country extra well. I like to make a card with those phrases and carry it around with me before I leave, so I can practice a word or two while I'm brushing my teeth, waiting in line, etc. Google Translate or similar is so helpful with perfecting pronunciation.

Learning a little of the language makes the whole trip more fun. In 2022, I learned both a little Italian and a little French because we were going both places. While in Florence, I asked a woman to take my picture at Piazza Michelangelo, and without thinking I thanked her in French. She immediately responded in French - and I understood her. On the same trip, I loved hearing a couple from Scandinavia trying to communicate with an Italian man - they settled on French as a common language and chattered away. So, kudos to you for the effort.

In most situations you can get by just fine without actually understanding Spanish. You can use your phone to translate, carry a travel phrasebook, and infer based on context.

And, in terms of your study of Spanish before your trip, I would really focus on just drilling the situations where you're going to be speaking like at a restaurant. You can say "tengo reserva a nombre de _______" without knowing how to conjugate tener. Just be very practical. It's not about understanding the language, it's about using the language to get what you want.

As Paul stated, for where you’re going you won’t need to know much. It would be a different story if you were visiting places in the countryside where few tourists go.

Will people speak fast; yes, but it’s not fast for them. It only seems fast. They will slow their speech down for you and may even try to communicate with whatever English they know. You’ll be surprised how much Spanish you’ll pick up in 6 months (if that’s how long you’ll be in country) unless you limit yourself to only speaking with those who speak English or going to places where English is spoken. Frequent places only locals go and you’ll be surprised how accommodating and helpful people are.

I have lived in Texas since 1972 and know very little Spanish even though it is widely spoken

I have been to Barcelona for a few days pre-cruise. It is a wonderful city and I did really well with no Spanish.

You will do fine. And using some Spanish, however limited, will probably be very appreciated.

I loved Barcelona.

I don’t want to bash your guitar, but the “local” language in Barcelona—and the surrounding region of Catalonia—is Catalan, not Spanish. It’s another Romance language, like Italian, French, Portuguese, or Spanish, so if you already know any of those, you’ll spot plenty of similarities.

Catalan and Spanish are both co-official here (along with Aranese in the Vall d’Aran county, up in the northwest of Catalonia, which is also official in that area), and yes, everyone understands Spanish, but among long-standing locals, whose families have lived here for generations, you’ll mostly hear Catalan everywhere in daily life... especially in places outside the capital city, Barcelona, which has more of a motley crew among its residents.

That said, don’t stress too much. As mentioned above, almost all locals under 60, who went through school here, have studied multiple languages, including English and sometimes even French. They might not be super fluent if they haven’t practised in years, but you’ll be able to get by just fine.

Enjoy!

PS: https://wikitravel.org/en/Catalan_phrasebook

Thank you all for your responses and help. It was basically a search through the forums that I kept seeing it mentioned to know some Spanish, but that could've just been my wording in the search or my misunderstanding how much 'some' is. I know that I can use my phone and so-forth but I've had experience in the past where it aggravated some people, but it sounds like that also won't be an issue here.

Thank you all so much!

Take this off your list of things to worry about. If you stick to popular tourism areas, you will find plenty of people whose English is as good as that of any of native English speaker.

Yes, take a little time to learn a handful of the "polite" words/phrases (please, thank you, sorry, excuse me, hello, goodbye, etc.) and often-used travel survival vocabulary (yes, no, where is...?, I understand/don't understand, bathroom, more, less, enough, here, there, etc.). I often find the simple phrase "can we speak English?" is useful in many countries.

Many of these basic Spanish words and phrases are commonly heard in media and society, you probably know most of them already anyway. Make a short list and study it while on the flight over.

As pointed out above, in Barcelona and elsewhere, Spanish (actually "Castilian" and "Castellano") is not the primary language. Don't worry too much about that, everyone will know you're a tourist (they see lots of them) and nobody expects every tourist to have anything like Spanish (or Catalan) fluency.

You will do fine.

Thank you! I’ve actually been doing Pimsleur for about 5 months and Jumpspeak recently, so although I thought I didn’t learn enough, it sounds like it’ll be plenty. I appreciate the reassurances!

I know that I can use my phone and so-forth but I've had experience in the past where it aggravated some people, but it sounds like that also won't be an issue here.

I guess this doesn't have to do with a culture or another, but rather the "place" where this interaction takes place. If you're asking someone in the middle of a busy street during work hours or in the metro in rush hour, the chances he or she will fob you off are far greater than if you do so elsewhere or some other time.

A word that really puzzles learners of Spanish is our "vale", as they normally teach them "de acuerdo", "por supuesto", which are much more formal than our "¡Vale!", meaning "Ok".

That makes sense, Eric. Same could be said anywhere really.

Thanks, Mikel! I’ve not even heard vale before so that’s helpful.

And it´s funny that it may be the most used word in Spanish!